iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Iwan Rhys Morus @irmorus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Just completed the last chapter of Empire of the Eye, coming soon from @reaktionbooks.bsky.social. Now all I need to do is write the introduction and epilogue, fix the footnotes and sort out the images.

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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 18/09/2026

Extraordinary Correspondence: coming June 2027. A new game is afoot.

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dillo saint dillo @dillo.media · 14/09/2026

this is gpt6 astra btw

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The British Society for Literature and Science @thebsls.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

We are delighted to announce the winner of the BSLS/JLS early career essay prize: Daniel Bowman, “Coach Dog to Automobile Dog: Canines in Literature and Car Culture" literatureandscience.org/volume-19-is...

literatureandscience.org

Volume 19, Issue 1 (2026) | Journal of Literature and Science

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Michael H Whitworth @profmhwhitworth.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Occult science, disenchantment, re-enchantment — an excellent topic for the BSLS online Winter symposium organised by Marijke Valk (University of Birmingham).

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Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · 08/09/2026

How do societies imagine a better future? How do the arts and humanities help make that future possible? Join the conversation! Register 👉️ luma.com/0qco7ph2 @christophersmith.bsky.social @henriettalmoore.bsky.social @annavignoles.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @ukri.org @expeditions.bsky.social

EXPeditions Base Camp: Why arts and humanities matter more than ever. Headshots of Professors Henrietta L. Moore, Christopher Smith and Anna Vignoles. QR code, September 28 2026, 5 PM (UK). Logos: Leverhulme Trust, UKRI, UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, EXPeditions.

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Katherine Weikert @kateweikert.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A very quick turn around because of paperwork, but we're hiring a one year post in Modern British History! Please have a look and share widely with anyone interested! Happy to take informal queries at the email in the job posting! www.winchester.ac.uk/About-Us/Wor...

winchester.ac.uk

Work with us - University of Winchester

Explore the University of Winchester and discover your new career. We have a variety of positions in academic and professional services. Work with us.

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SHADOW OF MADNESS out now! @dvbishop.com · 31/08/2026

Authors, just in case you need more procrastination tools, you can put your book titles in what3words.com and find out where in the world they are.

Transposing my historical thriller CARNIVAL OF LIES into what.three.words takes you to the middle of nowhere, Western Australia.

Transposing my historical thriller RITUAL OF FIRE into what.three.words takes you to the north of Houston in Texas.

Transposing my historical thriller SHADOW OF MADNESS into what.three.words takes you to the outskirts of Josephine, Texas.

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Jon Adcock @jonadcock.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Book blurbs deciphered #booksky

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Great fun to edit this with Maebh. My contribution, written with @keirwaddington.bsky.social considers the construction of immunity across late Victorian fiction and medical science

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Always worth reading Keir on issues of environment. This one based on years of extensive research. Fascinating and timely.

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

This is a fascinating account of adaptation across media. Well worth the read.

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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

This should be self evident but clearly isn’t. From @lewisgoodall.com

The problem is not that higher education has failed as an engine of social mobility. It is that, for too long, it has been treated as the only engine. The curriculum is not the problem which is driving our NEET malaise; the weakness of local economies is. Any Labour administration should therefore tread very carefully before dismantling any part of the comprehensive educational settlement created by the Labour governments of the 1960s. Burnham's proposals also misunderstand the multi-layered nature of the modern university, which in many cases is as likely to offer vocational courses as strictly academic ones.
In any case, let's stop the obsession with STEM subjects and
"practical" training. There is already too much snobbery in the assumption that working-class students are somehow less interested in the arts and humanities. And we've never needed those graduates more. In an age in which we are already outsourcing so much of our critical thinking to machines, and in which none of us can be entirely sure of the truth of what we see, where the world's complexity is ever deepening, subjects like philosophy, history, political science, linguistics, classics and literature have rarely been more important.
I'm sure our English graduate prime minister might agree.

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Bloody Scotland @bloodyscotland.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

And a massive well done to @franapunk.bsky.social for taking home the the McDermid Debut Prize. You can see her on the 'Gory Glesga' panel on Sunday 20th Sep: bloodyscotland.com/event/gory-g...

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The Crime Writers' Association @thecwa.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

📚 HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY to Cathy Ace (@cathyace.bsky.social) with The Corpse with the Steely Gaze! #BookLaunch #BookRelease #CrimeReads #CathyAce #TheCorpseWithTheSteelyGaze

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Alice Bell @abeewords.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Book 27 this year was The Bells of Westminster by Leonora Nattrass, of whom I’m a huge fan. She does historical fiction with a big slosh of old school comedy-of-manners hijinks. This is no exception! Edward Longshanks is exhumed and unexplained deaths ensue. Feat. comic relief talking parrot.

Me holding up the hardback copy of The Bells of Westminster. It has an engraving style illustration of said abbey, with the title in gothic script. There’s also a shiny gold picture of a crown, and a few drops of red blood in one corner

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SHADOW OF MADNESS out now! @dvbishop.com · 29/06/2026

Unboxing SHADOW OF MADNESS, out in 10 days on July 9th from @panmacmillan.bsky.social, pre-order links here: linktr.ee/D.V.Bishop?u... @jennybrownagency.bsky.social

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The Crime Writers' Association @thecwa.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The CWA Daggers will be awarded this Thursday! If you have a ticket, we’ll see you there; if not, keep an eye on this account and the 🗡 #CWADaggers hashtag, and we’ll post live updates. Did you miss the shortlists? Watch them now:

buff.ly

2026 CWA Daggers – Shortlists Announcement

The official shortlists for the 2026 CWA Daggers. Congratulations to all those selected! For a text version of the lists, visit our website: https://thecwa.co.uk/the-daggers The 2026 Dagger winners…

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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 26/06/2026

What is it about the great British detective that fascinates his devotees so? ft.trib.al/9IRsNMk

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Kenny Stewart @kennystew.art · 24/06/2026

I thought kick off was later and I’m sad I somehow missed it but that’s a great result for Scotland.

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David (W) Goodman @davegoodman.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Well deserved, this is a really good, consistently well produced and excellent format podcast that hasn't had a bad episode since launch. The pairing of debuts with veteran authors is a huge part of how well it works.

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Roger Luckhurst @theprofrog.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Burnham’s Manchester is vibrant in part because of two giant universities with thousands of students thronging the streets. It’s great he’s an English graduate, so maybe the rhetoric of a feckless humanities will calm down a bit. Fixing this collapse wd help several aspects of our polycrisis

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Bloody Scotland @bloodyscotland.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Unpublished writers - WE WANT YOU! Pitch Perfect, our annual opportunity for unpublished writers to pitch their work to a panel of industry experts is now open for applications: bloodyscotland.com/take-part/#p...

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

This is very sweet from @roberthutton.co.uk - how the Abbey National ended up writing back to correspondence for Sherlock Holmes after they moved into 221B Baker Street www.ft.com/content/004c...

that the Abbey Road Building Society built its new headquarters from 219-229 Baker Street, a block that effectively included 221B. In 1935, the first letter arrived.
The bank decided that letters to Holmes should get replies and, in a light-hearted decision that would have long-lasting consequences, opted to play along. A correspondence secretary would explain to writers that, as explained in the books, Mr Holmes had retired to Sussex. The letters began to flood in and continued for decades.
There were invitations to speak, requests for signatures and, of course, pleas for help in solving crimes. They continue to this day,

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Crime fiction obsessive deliberates over Scotland team: Karen Pirie in the holding role. Great man-marker. Never switches off. Likely to attract a yellow card or two. Worth it for the commitment. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #nationalcrimereadingmonth

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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com

The FIFA Prize for Literature

Following the success of their Peace Prize, FIFA establishes a literary prize judged by the footballers at the world cup.

(image of trophy)

All does not go well...

Players arrive at games exhausted by reading hundreds of novels and heatedly debating their merits long into the night.

(image of tired players on pitch reading)

The south American teams boycott the tournament when an official disparages Isabel Allende's use of magic realism.

(Image of players angrily leaving)

Seventeen plavers receive red cards after a discussion of radical honesty in the works of Karl Ove Knausgaard turns into a brawl.

(Image of players fighting)

However, all is forgiven as Joyce Carol Oates takes the thrilling final to extra time, before losing on penalties to Haruki Murukami.

(image of Haruki holding the trophy aloft)

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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Jack Parlabane is back! And I’m thrilled to encounter him again, in this super new murder mystery by @brookmyre.bsky.social. A brisk & clever plot (character names a bit tricky). I loved the up-to-the-minute themes of hard right social media, billionaire businessmen and Russian influence. Fun! 💙📚⚡️

Quite Ugly One Evening
By Chris Brookmyre.
A Jack Parlabane Mystery:
“Blood is thicker than water. And much messier.”

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James Oswald @sirbenfro.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

And then this happened. #TheViolentHour

Freshly opened cardboard box containing hardback copies of the novel The Violent Hour by James Oswald.

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Christopher Pittard @christopherpittard.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Have just been told that *Literary Illusions: Performance Magic and Victorian Literature* is available to pre-order in paperback ahead of publication in July. It's £19.99 (a bargain in academic publishing), but you can get 30% off with the code PAPER30. edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-literar...

edinburghuniversitypress.com

Literary Illusions

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Bloody Scotland @bloodyscotland.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Have you picked up a copy of our 2026 programme yet? This lot did, and are now using it as a cunning way to hide their true identities!😉 It's available to download here too: bloodyscotland.com/whats-on/

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

If the World Cup was contested by crime writers? Tonight’s opening match might be 🇲🇽 Fernanda Melchor v 🇿🇦 Deon Meyer #nationalcrimereadingmonth #thecwa

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

In third place on my crime fiction course after Christie and Doyle, Ian Rankin’s Black and Blue. Students loved Rebus, depictions of Scotland, and were oddly obsessed by Bible John. And why not? It’s one of the greats. #nationalcrimereadingmonth @ianrankin1.bsky.social

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Abir Mukherjee @radiomukhers.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

More social media ‘advice’ from the team at my publishers. They have a combined age of 34. Please just order the book. abirmukherjee.com/book/the-pin... #ThePinnacle

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The Crime Writers' Association @thecwa.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Look what's happening today for #nationalcrimereadingmonth! #ncrm #pickupapageturner #thecwa #thereadingagency #goallin Sign up for free here: buff.ly/SfL1cTS

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

After Agatha, second choice for the students in my crime course were Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. So far so predictable. More to come! Still good to know that the classics speak to 20-somethings. Even if it’s because they watched the adaptations with mum and dad. #nationalcrimereadingmonth

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Antony Johnston @antonyjohnston.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

And now I’m in beautiful Hawarden for Alibis in the Archive at Gladstone’s Library, where I’m giving a talk tomorrow about our love affair with crime puzzles, and a peek behind the scenes of Can You Solve the Murder? 👀🔍

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Trying out my profile for the first time as a (hopeful) writer of (not yet published) crime fiction. Luckily I also get to teach it. For #NationalCrimeReadingMonth I thought I’d share the biggest hits with students on my British Crime Fiction course. No.1…Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile.

A picture of the author Agatha Christie in moody black and white

The cover of death on the Nile showing large figures of Rameses II behind a river boat

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The Crime Writers' Association @thecwa.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

It’s #NationalCrimeReadingMonth! Events are everywhere and TBR piles are teetering. Check out crimereading.com and join thousands of crime fiction fans across the country 🕵🏾🫆 Use our free branded Canva templates to showcase your events, crime books, and favourite crime reads for #NCRM 📚

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Liam Hogan @liamjhogan.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

A Very Vexing Murder: 99p eBook deal, ENDS TODAY! Give this cosy Austen flavoured murder mystery a whirl, as Harriet Smith investigates the cast (suspects?) and locations (crime scenes?) of "Emma". Just don't drink the tea! @lucyvandrew.bsky.social www.amazon.co.uk/Very-Vexing-...

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Richard Hooton @rjhooton.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

June is #NationalCrimeReadingMonth courtesy of @thecwa.bsky.social I’ve done my bit by writing a cosy crime novel! If you want to get involved & fancy ‘an absorbingly unusual murder mystery’ then #TheMargaretCode is available from bookshops & libraries 😁 Whatever you delve into - happy reading! 📖

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I’m on @benansell.bsky.social’s R4 show next week discussing the future of the humanities. I love that the Beeb have listed my cockney alter ego www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Tom Gillett
Editor: Damon Rose
Contributors:
Elif Shafik, Novelist and writer
Etan Shah, Chief Executive of the British Academy Professor Sean Kelly, Dean of Arts and Humanities,
Harvard University
Dr Peter Sutoris, Associate Professor in Climate and Development at the University of Leeds Marion Thain, Professor of Culture and Technology at the University of Edinburgh.

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The British Society for Literature and Science @thebsls.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Calling all PGRs and ECRs: three more weeks to submit to the BSLS/JLS essay prize! All entries receive feedback from the judging panel. www.bsls.ac.uk/2025/04/call...

bsls.ac.uk

Call for entries: 2026 BSLS/JLS Essay Prize – The British Society for Literature and Science

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Clear-eyed assessment here - with frightening data showing we’re still 3 years away from the low point.

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The British Society for Literature and Science @thebsls.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The BSLS and the JLS are pleased to announce the opening of the 2026 PGR/ECR Essay Prize Competition! Entries should be between 4,000-5,000 words in length, and are due by 5 June. More details here: www.bsls.ac.uk/2025/04/call...

bsls.ac.uk

Call for entries: 2026 BSLS/JLS Essay Prize – The British Society for Literature and Science

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The British Society for Literature and Science @thebsls.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

If you are an ECR or PGR who presented at this years' conference at @unistrathclyde.bsky.social, please do consider submitting a polished draft of your paper!

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Martin Willis @profwillis.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Shannon Lambert at Ghent University wins the @thebsls.bsky.social book prize for her first book, Science and Affect in Contemporary Literature. Congrats to Shannon!

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